


To Be the Very Best

by MarsFlameSniper



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Makoto Niijima Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 14:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12110751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarsFlameSniper/pseuds/MarsFlameSniper
Summary: Makoto is a strategist, not a gamer. Or, not yet a gamer at least. Futaba figures she can be both. It's not unproductive if she's learning from it right?Written for Makoto Week on Tumblr





	To Be the Very Best

“I don’t see what this has to do with strategy.”

The gameboy in Makoto’s hands chirped as if in response to her statement, and Futaba reached across and pressed a few buttons, starting up the game.

“That’s because you’re not thinking of the possibilities! Pokémon is a classic RPG, you build teams based on the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent. How is this  _not_  like the Metaverse?”

Turning a sceptical eye towards the console, Makoto allowed Futaba to guide her through the opening dialogues of the game. She supposed she could see Futaba’s logic: their battles in Mementos were often hinged on the strengths of their Personas against the demons they faced, which were rather myriad. But it was very difficult for her to escape the feeling that she was slacking off somehow by playing a game.

Another chorus of beeps sounded from the game, and Makoto found herself appreciating the retro feel of the game in any event. Futaba had downloaded what was apparently one of the original games from an online store, saying something about how the bugs would help her appreciate hiccups in even the best laid plans.

Finally, she gained control of her character, and progressed under Futaba’s watchful eye until she was given her first choice of the game.

“Which starter Pokémon is the best?”

But Futaba only grinned devilishly and sat back, waving for her to continue.

“Generations of children were given this same choice as you, and none of us knew what was coming. You’ll have to learn the same as the rest of us: just pick one and go with it.”

Flicking through the three choices, Makoto finally settled on the blue Water-type ‘Squirtle’. It looked pretty tough, and she doubted there was any wrong choice…right?

* * *

“Hey, this is going pretty well!” Makoto cheered as she commanded her Squirtle to use Bubble again, causing the first gym leader’s Pokémon to faint.

She’d also managed to catch a female Nidoran not far into her journey, and it had held up fairly well before she’d had to switch, but now the small Water-type was making quick work out of the boss.

The elemental system was fairly simple and once Futaba had written down a list of all the possible types, she’d managed to get the hang of it easily enough. Beyond that, it was good practice to check for the subtle differences that would indicate a Pokémon’s type, much the same as how the demons in the Metaverse had such differences. Surprising as it was to admit, this game was already helping.

“Don’t get complacent,” Futaba said sagely, “that Onix of his is pretty tough.”

Frowning at the advice, Makoto pressed on as the second Pokémon was released. It also seemed to be a Rock type, so she decided that continuing to use the Bubble attack was the safest option.

“Hmm. Bide, what does that do?”

* * *

Considering her options, Makoto used another potion, bringing her Nidorina’s health back up to near maximum. Almost instantly, the Geodude she’d been coveting attacked, and she winced as her Pokémon’s health was brought back down to the middle again.

“Ehh I dunno why you’re even bothering with that Geodude,” Futaba muttered, “you’re gonna be waaaay too specialised when you evolve your Nidorina. You’d be better off with something from the next few routes.”

Makoto threw another Pokéball, cursing under her breath as the Pokémon broke free and attacked her again.

“I know,” she said, concentrating, “but it looks pretty cool, and it seems to have high defence too.”

A thought occurred to her suddenly as she threw another ball, and she smirked. “I think I finally understand why Joker gets so frustrated when it comes to demon negotiations.”

Scoffing, Futaba shot Makoto a stink eye that went unnoticed by the older girl.

“Joker nothing. He’s not the one who’s whining about it at the end of the battle.”

Makoto stayed silent, focusing on the game and ignoring the barks of laughter she could hear as the tips of her ears turned red.

* * *

“Why the  _hell_ ,” Makoto growled, the plastic beneath her fingers trembling, “does she keep using full restores whenever her health gets low?!”

Futaba managed to contain the snort she desperately wanted to let loose, knowing that the anger Makoto was showing towards Erika as yet another of her Pokémon fainted could easily turn her way.

“I warned you about specializing!” She said instead. “This Gym is like a death-trap for you right now.”

“Well then what should I do?” Makoto yelled, wincing as her last Pokémon fainted and she was kicked back to a Pokémon Centre to heal.

“Diversify.”

* * *

If Futaba had thought Makoto had been scary before she’d caught her Drowzee...well, that was nothing to what she was doing now.

“Taste my justice!”

It was almost like a massacre. Dowzee’s Confusion was tearing through Erika’s half-Poison team and Makoto’s eyes had been positively gleaming since the first enemy had fallen.

“God, this is way too much like fighting demons,” she sighed, “Queen, you’re just too intense when it comes to fights.”

* * *

This was beyond hopeless.

“Is this what you meant when you said Psychic Pokémon were overpowered in this game?” Makoto asked.

Sabrina was positively ripping through her team, even the Jolteon she’d added wasn’t making much of a difference. Futaba hadn’t offered much advice beyond telling her that most people struggled at this point. Hearing that wasn’t improving her mood though.

“It’s good practice,” Futaba had engrossed herself in a manga after Makoto’s third loss to the gym leader, “the demons don’t fight fair either.”

Well then. The only response to that was to do what worked in the Metaverse. If she couldn’t fight smarter this time, fighting harder was her only option.

“Futaba, what’s the best spot to level up my Pokémon?”

Futaba directed her back down towards Fuchsia City, to the path she’d ignored in favour of Flying back to the centre of the map to challenge the next gym. The route was littered with Trainers she’d yet to face, and she gained levels quickly. Her four-strong team looking considerably tougher once she made it back to Lavender.

Thinking ahead, she caught a Doduo on her way, and geared up to face the leader again.

* * *

“This is so cheap!” Futaba cackled with glee as she watched Makoto’s rematch against Sabrina. Beside her, Makoto clenched her jaw, the console in her hands trembling as she battled.

The fight had started no differently than any of her previous challenges, Her Nidoqueen falling easily, but it had done enough damage for a well timed Hyper Beam from Graveler to finish off the enemy Kadabra. Pleased to find that the attack didn’t need to recharge, she’d immediately fired another one off at the next Pokémon.

The enemy Mr. Mime’s health had dropped considerably, enough for her newly evolved Dodrio to finish the job.

The cause for Futaba’s glee was the Dodrio itself. Sabrina had sent out her Alakazam, and Makoto had wasted no time in attacking. Her speed had let her choose Fury Attack as the first hit, and she was delighted to see that the hit had been critical.

As had the second.

And the third.

By the fourth critical hit, a shaky smile had crept onto her face as Alakazam’s health dropped to half. She could do this! Even if the next attack did a huge amount of damage, she’d be able to attack at least one more time, maybe even fatally.

Taking a chance, she launched Fury Attack again. The attack wasn’t a critical hit, but it was enough. A spectacular hit from her Jolteon’s Thunderbolt ended Alakazam.

“Ohh Venomoth next…!” Futaba said. Makoto winced slightly, but pressed on…she had a plan. Her Jolteon was battered with status effects, but instead of healing, Makoto used a revive on her Dodrio. Before Jolteon fainted, she was able to use a super potion, then sent the bird back onto the field triumphantly.

“Drill Peck! Drill Peck!” Futaba cheered, and not one to deny the young hacker, Makoto obliged.

* * *

“So I have to face all four of them one after the other? Do I get time to heal?”

“You do, but you’ll wanna save a lot of your healing items for the last battle. Lance is a killer, even with that Dragonair you’ve got.”

Makoto nodded, heart pounding as she stepped through the door to her first challenge. Surprisingly, she’d gotten far more invested in this game than she’d expected to when Futaba had sat her down with the gameboy. And it had definitely given her more than a few tactics to consider for fighting as a Phantom Thief.

Though she did hope they wouldn’t be facing several powerful demons in a row any time soon.

She continued to play, thankful for her Jolteon’s effectiveness against the first challenger, and her Blastoise’s against the second.

The third challenge felt familiar in an odd way.

“So this is what it’s like being on the other end of a Psychic-type beatdown.” She muttered, as her Hypno wiped out yet another of the Ghost-type opponent’s Pokémon.

“It’s a little like when you guys run into some demons with a really obvious weakness,” Futaba told her, “sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth summoning Necronomicon, the fight’s over before I really get a chance to do anything.”

Making her way to the final challenge, Makoto nodded absently. This one was the one Futaba had warned her about. Dragon-types being as rare as they were, she hadn’t had much of a chance to face them and see what worked. Even armed with a Dragon of her own, she knew it was better to err on the side of caution.

“Wait, I thought Gyarados was a water type?” She muttered to herself, switching over to her Jolteon in relief.

“And an Aerodactyl too?” Blastoise was swapped in, “Futaba I thought you said Lance was difficult?”

A snort came from her left, “just wait until he sends out his Dragonite.”

Dragonite, as it turned out, was his last Pokémon, and after only a few attacks it had reduced her team down to just two. Looking closely at the sprite as her Dodrio fainted, an idea came to her. Quickly, she sent out her Golem and began a barrage of rock-type moves. The first time the sound effect for a super effective attack sounded, she shouted out in triumph, watching as the opponent’s health dropped lower and lower with each strike.

Her victory was short lived however, as Lance gave way to her final test, the rival character that had challenged her throughout the game.

“time for the final challenge!” Futaba scooted over, discarding her manga to watch the battle with interest

“This guy reminds me of Akechi, he’s far too smug,” Makoto grumbled.

The battle was tough, and Makoto felt a surge of panic when an Alakazam was sent out, but she’d trained her Pokémon well, and there were no real surprises. There was nothing but satisfaction in her eyes as her rival’s team fell one after the other. Finally, she stood alone, victorious as the final pieces of dialogue played out and her team was recorded in the Hall of Fame.

“Well Futaba,” she said as the credits rolled, “I have to admit, you were right. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from your game. Oh?”

To her surprise, after the credits finished, she was placed back in the town she’d started in.

“Is there more?”

Futaba looked down at the screen, “yeah, I mean, the game doesn’t really end until you’ve caught all the Pokémon. And of course there’s Mewtwo to fight…but I guess you’re not too interested in catching everything right?”

She reached out to take the console, and was surprised when it was jerked back.

“Uhh…maybe, I could try catching everything?” Makoto said, embarrassed to even ask. “I mean…it’d be a waste not to, since I’m here, right?”

Futaba let her go with a smirk as Makoto leaned back over the gameboy, attention already lost as she set off again on her way.

**Author's Note:**

> Fighting demons is one thing, but dealing with a broken-as-fuck special stat is quite another.


End file.
